


Exit Strategy

by house_of_lantis



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-30
Updated: 2012-08-30
Packaged: 2017-11-13 04:20:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/house_of_lantis/pseuds/house_of_lantis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kris is a ruthless assassin and he’s after a notorious criminal who, on the streets, goes by Lambert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Exit Strategy

**Author's Note:**

> Written based on a prompt by teanpa at kradamadness back to basics round

_”A man feared that he might find an assassin; another that he might find a victim.  
One was wiser than the other.”  
Stephen Crane _  
  
  
Kristopher opened his eyes and looked at the man sleeping beside him and frowned slightly at the way that the light from the small bedside lamp gave him an angelic glow.  
  
 _Angelic glow?_ Kristopher chided himself, _what utter garbage!_ There was nothing innocent or compassionate about the sleeping man.  
  
He slipped from under the covers without disturbing his bed partner, his feet padding softly on the thick carpeting. His overnight bag was on the floor and Kristopher slipped his hand in the hidden compartment at the bottom of the bag, his hand curling around the familiar weight of the leather-wrapped hilt of the knife. The blade sang when he pulled it free from the leather holster, glinting brightly for a second in the lamp light.  
  
Kristopher moved around the bed to stand over the sleeping man. They called him Lambert and said his name with the kind of fear and reverence that people talked about their religious leaders. He respected Lambert’s move up the criminal career ladder – starting with small time juvenile crimes and graduating to the big leagues and taking over the whole LA territory by the time he was 30-years old. Kristopher respected a man’s ambition; admired the kind of strength of will it took to get this far and this high up on the food chain. Everyone knew the name Lambert; only a handful actually knew the man.  
  
To be honest, Kristopher didn’t care if it was his real name; no one really had real names anyway and Los Angeles was all about reinvention. A part of him would…well, Lambert was good in bed and Kristopher liked sex as much as any healthy male, but the past couple of weeks…he sensed that Lambert treated him differently; like there were _feelings_ involved or something. For men like them, there couldn’t be feelings at all. So Kristopher knew it was time to make his final move.  
  
He shifted his weight, finding his center of gravity, leaning over slightly to press the edge of the blade against the man’s neck, just under his chin. One swift movement with five pounds of pressure would cut through skin, muscles, and arteries; twenty-two pounds of pressure would cut through his neck bones and cartilage.  
  
He watched as the man’s eyelids fluttered unconsciously and Kristopher was aware that the man was faking sleep. For some unknown reason, Kristopher’s hand moved the knife just a hair’s breadth away from the man’s neck, drawn to the long dark lashes. For a moment he felt regret, an unusual feeling for a man in his line of work. Kristopher didn’t allow himself the luxury of doubt, not when he took human life for money.  
  
The man’s eyes opened slowly and he gazed up at Kristopher, keeping still when the knife pressed against his vulnerable skin again.  
  
“They say that you can’t be bought when you accept a contract.”  
  
“Lambert, I don’t accept a contract unless I know I can complete it,” Kristopher murmured, looking down at his beautiful face.  
  
“They also said that you don’t play with your prey. You’ve been fucking me and _fucking with me_ for the last six weeks, Kris.”  
  
Kristopher cocked his head, one side of his mouth curling up in a smile. “You know who I am; you’ve known the whole time.”  
  
“Once piece of advice – even the twinkest club boys don’t pay me the kind of attention that you did,” the man said, offering a small smile of his own. “Is Kris Allen your real name?”  
  
“I prefer Kristopher.”  
  
“I prefer Adam.”  
  
Kristopher dropped his smile and pressed the knife harder against Adam’s neck, watching the Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, a thin line of blood forming along the blade’s whisper sharp edge.  
  
“Can you tell me who hired you?”  
  
“Does it matter now? You’re not going to care in a second.”  
  
Adam’s blue eyes met his, sharp and cunning. “If I have only a second left, then I want to die knowing who betrayed me.”  
  
“I really dislike talking about this, it’s kind of unseemly.” Kristopher said, narrowing his eyes. “You’re only trying to distract me.”  
  
He slid the knife at an angle, cutting just a little deeper against Adam’s carotid artery.  
  
“What do you want most in the world, Kristopher?” Adam whispered, hurriedly.  
  
“Don’t barter for your life; I promise to make it quick and painless—“  
  
“You must want something, I can give it to you – or I can find it for you!”  
  
Kristopher licked his lips and gave Adam a wistful look. “Can you bring someone back from the dead?” He gave a comforting smile as Adam’s expression shattered. “I know. It’s not fair, is it, to ask for something like that; something no one can never give me.”  
  
“Kristopher—“  
  
“Shhh…just close your eyes, Adam.”  
  
“If you’re going to cut my throat open, then I want you to look me in the eyes while you do it,” Adam said, his voice rough with anger.  
  
“Fair enough,” Kristopher murmured, nodding slowly as he met Adam’s blue eyes in a steady gaze. He thought that the man was brave; it was rare when someone met him head on.  
  
“Come work for me, Kristopher,” Adam whispered, his voice kind. “Let me take care of you.”  
  
Kristopher took a deep breath and sighed. “I usually don’t get job offers at a time like this.” He grinned at Adam. “And you’re still keeping me talking.”  
  
“I’d offer you sex, but you can get that from me any time you want.”  
  
“True.”  
  
“I know you don’t want to kill me, not really,” he said, weighing his words carefully.  
  
Pursing his mouth, Kristopher considered it. “No, I really don’t.”  
  
“Then talk to me some more.” Adam grinned a little. “You can kill me if the conversation starts to bore you.”  
  
Kristopher laughed and he gave Adam a fond look and pulled the blade from his neck, holding the knife carefully in his hand, his grip sure and strong. He took a step back and stared at Adam, wondering what the unpredictable man would do now. He kept the knife pointed at Adam, ready to make a killing blow if Adam attacked him.  
  
Instead, he merely reached up and wiped the blood from his neck, staring at his fingers for a moment before reaching for the box of tissues on his bedside table, cleaning his hand and neck. He sat up, pushing the pillows behind him and watched Kristopher carefully, his eyes moving up and down Kristopher’s naked body. He stood there, letting Adam look, there wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen of Kristopher anyway but he liked being appreciated.  
  
“What was so different about me that you’d break your contract?”  
  
“Who says I’m going to break my contract?” Kristopher murmured, smirking slightly. “Maybe you’re just getting a reprieve for the moment because I like talking to you.” He licked his lips and shook his head. “If I let you live, I’ll always have to look over my shoulder to make sure that you’re not there to take your revenge.”  
  
Adam rolled his eyes. “You’re for hire so I know you were only doing your professional duty. What I want to know is who paid you to put the knife against my throat so I can rip out their eyes with my hands.”  
  
Kristopher stared at him for a long moment and believed that Adam would rip out someone’s eyes with his bare hands. “Someone else will come after you.”  
  
“They’ll come after you, too; and now your reputation is pissed all to hell.”  
  
“I’m thinking of retiring anyway,” he said, shrugging a little bit. “I have a little bit saved up; I’m pretty sure I can disappear somewhere in the world.”  
  
“I wish you’d stay,” Adam said, his eyes hopeful. “With me, if that wasn’t clear enough for you.”  
  
He laughed, tapping the flat side of the blade against his thigh. “As what? Your boy toy?”  
  
“Partner.”  
  
“In your organization?” Kristopher snorted and rolled his eyes. “Adam, I hate bureaucracy and paperwork – and if there’s one thing that I’ve learned during my time being a killer for hire, the people that pay me have a crap ton of bureaucracy and paperwork.”  
  
“That’s work,” Adam said, pushing the sheets away and moving across the bed on his knees until he was only a few inches from Kristopher. “I mean partner in every sense of the word.”  
  
“Did you miss the part about me maybe retiring?”  
  
Adam grinned. “Then retire, but settle down with me.”  
  
“You’ve only known me for six weeks—“  
  
“For men like us, don’t you think six weeks is a long time?”  
  
Kristopher grinned. “Yeah, well…”  
  
“You could’ve killed me at any time,” Adam said, reaching out slowly and brushing his fingers down Kristopher’s chest, sending goose bumps up and down his arms. “Why did you pick tonight? Are you on a deadline?”  
  
He stared owlishly at Adam. “You were getting too close.”  
  
“Too close to what?”  
  
“To me,” he said, plainly.  
  
Adam smiled at him, licking his lips. “I like this – you – much better than the Kris Allen twink act. He was adorable and hot – all that desperate need to please; but you, like this, so confident…this is sexy as hell. You, Kristopher, are turning me on so much right now.”  
  
Kristopher didn’t miss that Adam was just as naked, his cock hardening between them. “Let me put the knife back in my bag.”  
  
Adam curled his hand behind Kristopher’s neck, pulling him closer. “Fuck that, you can bring the knife back to bed, baby…”  
  
“And what do you want me to do with it?”  
  
He licked Kristopher’s cheek. “Why don’t you fuck me with the handle?”  
  
***  
  
 _“An assassin is the second oldest profession in the world…next to being a whore.”  
Perfect Assassins, 1998 _  
  
  
Two weeks later, Kristopher moved permanently into Adam’s mansion and wore the role of his personal boy toy quite well. The “twink of the moment” now had Lambert’s ear and people were beginning to notice the pretty boy with the shy smile and the big brown eyes curled up beside Adam everywhere they went.  
  
What they didn’t see at all was that Kristopher had a new set of blades, an intimate thank you gift from Adam, tucked in various places on his person and accessible at any time, and that he didn’t have any qualms about flashing his sharp blade and leaving behind nothing but death and blood in his wake. The pretty boy toy liked the color red. Kristopher always kind of thought that he was a bit of a psychopath.  
  
“Are you going to ever tell me who put the contract out on my life?”  
  
Kristopher smiled, licking Adam’s nipple in long, slow strokes. “You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
He met Adam’s curious eyes. “I took care of it.”  
  
“You, what, repaid the contract?”  
  
Kristopher snickered, kissing his way across the lightly furred chest to the other nipple, giving it his thorough attention. “I never repay my fees; I took care of it.”  
  
“You killed them, didn’t you?” He said, a little excited hitch in his voice. “Fuck, you did, that’s so fucking hot.”  
  
He took a deep breath and lifted his head to give Adam a quizzical look. “You have your own team of killers working for you full-time so why do you find me doing that so hot?”  
  
“Because it’s _you,_ dork ass! You look like a college frat boy, not a contract killer,” he said, running his hands through Kristopher’s hair and pushing his head down to his belly. “And no one knows that except me and it makes me hot.”  
  
Kristopher snorted and allowed Adam to urge him down, curling his arms around Adam’s hips, licking at freckled skin until he felt the head of Adam’s cock bump under his chin. Adam sucked in his breath and moved restlessly on the bed.  
  
“Come on, baby, please…”  
  
He licked a wet stripe from the base of his cock to the tip, flicking his tongue along the rim of the head as Adam moaned, his hands grabbing the sheets. Kristopher thought it was a little ironic that the biggest crime lord of Los Angeles turned into a big puddle of goo whenever he got a blowjob. As he sucked deliciously slowly on the tip, dragging his lips from the helmet to the tip in an obscene kiss, Kristopher wondered if Adam’s previous lovers got to see him like this, too. And then he frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together, at the thought of other boys getting their hands on Adam like this – maybe one of Adam’s bodyguards would tell Kristopher the names of Adam’s past lovers and Kristopher would go out there and take care of his business.  
  
Adam yelped in pained surprise, his hands clutching at Kristopher’s hair and tugging viciously. “Ouch! Watch the teeth, baby, don’t bite my cock off!”  
  
Kristopher murmured in apology and tucked his teeth away, letting his bottom lip press right against the thick vein and rubbed it in that way that Adam liked so much as he sank his mouth down and down on his cock, feeling the spongy head slip into the back of his throat.  
  
“Ohhhh… _yesss_ …”  
  
He moved up and down, following Adam’s hip thrusts, letting him have what he wanted. It didn’t take very long for Adam to start panting, crying out as he arched on the bed, legs shivering and hands twisting in Kristopher’s hair. He closed his eyes and let the taste of Adam’s come spill on his tongue, sucking harder to draw out more of the bitter metallic flavor – it strangely reminded Kristopher of blood – and he looked up to see Adam’s chest and neck and face flushed, black bangs clinging against his sweaty forehead. He swallowed and licked Adam clean, moving up along his loose body to snuggle against him.  
  
Adam laughed and flung one arm around him, nearly clobbering Kristopher in the eye. “God, sorry, baby…that’s all I need, someone to say that I beat you up and gave you a black eye or something.”  
  
Kristopher glared at him a little bit. “As if I’d ever let you hit me like that; you’d be dead in a second if you did.”  
  
“Awww…don’t be like that,” he murmured, tugging Kristopher closer and kissing him on his forehead. “Give me a minute and I’ll return the favor.”  
  
He narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips. “I think you should let me fuck you.”  
  
“Or that…” Adam said, chuckling deeply. He released Kristopher and turned on his side, slapping his own ass with his hand. “Ride it hard and long, baby.”  
  
***  
  
 _”He’s kind of a quiet guy, kind of like an assassin.”  
Will Caudle _  
  
  
Once a year, Kristopher always went on a solo pilgrimage, so to speak, where he could refresh his body and mind, reflect on his choice of profession, and think about loved ones that he left behind. Usually, these pilgrimages took him all across the globe – Thailand, Morocco, Mozambique, Iceland, Peru – and even though he was in a stable and long term relationship with the criminal known as Lambert, Kristopher felt the need to just get away for a few days.  
  
Of course, he knew Adam wouldn’t let it go and would want to know _everything._ Kristopher, not used to having a partner that cared enough to give a damn if he disappeared off the face of the earth, chartered a private plane under a fake name that Adam couldn’t trace and left Los Angeles for parts unknown.  
  
He did leave Adam a note to explain everything – a really nice note with lyrics to a song that Kristopher was secretly working on that he hoped would keep Adam company for the three or four days that Kristopher was away. He would happily explain everything when he came back home.  
  
It was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, he thought.  
  
***  
  
 _”It’s purely a matter of business.”  
The Assassination Bureau _  
  
  
As soon as Kristopher walked out of LAX, he was strong-armed into the back of a black SUV by Adam’s head of security, Neil Mitchel. Only a few people knew that Neil was Adam’s younger brother. Kristopher playfully called him Negative Neil because he was kind of a douche bag. Neil glared at him, arms crossed, lips pressed tight.  
  
“I don’t give a flying fuck where you’ve been the last four days, dickwad, but you better have a good reason for leaving like that,” Neil said, sharply.  
  
“Is Adam really upset?”  
  
Neil snorted. “What do you think?”  
  
“He doesn’t know you’re here or he would’ve come out to the airport himself,” Kristopher correctly guessed. “So that means you’re going to take me to some secluded spot and put a bullet in my head if you don’t like my answers.”  
  
“Don’t forget that I’ll chop you into little pieces and bury your ass in the desert.”  
  
Kristopher sighed and gave him a small smile. “I chartered a private plane and went to Burma.”  
  
Neil continued to scowl at him.  
  
“I went to a few temples and burned incense and meditated on my life,” he said, shrugging.  
  
Neil gave him an assessing stare. “Tell me, Kris, what kind of life do you lead that you need to use an untraceable identity to fly to Burma to light incense and pray? You’re just a club twink.” Neil leaned forward and looked at him. “You’re not just a club twink, are you?”  
  
“I’m just a normal guy.” Kristopher grinned to himself; he really liked thinking that he was “normal” because there was a possibility that one day, he actually would be a normal guy if he worked at it. Probably.  
  
“Lambert eats guys like you for a midnight snack, but he doesn’t keep anyone around. We checked into your background but nothing came up. Everything came up clean. Maybe it was too clean to be real.” He leaned back and smirked. “So that means that Adam knows who or what you are and he’s keeping the rest of us in the dark. Why?”  
  
“He _really_ likes me?”  
  
***  
  
 _"Come! Come! Come see what I have to offer!"  
Assassin’s Creed _  
  
  
Kristopher found himself shoved to his knees on the carpet in front of Adam’s desk, the cold muzzle of Neil’s gun pressed at the base of his neck. He didn’t think Neil would actually pull the trigger, but the Lambert boys were unpredictable and Kristopher wondered if Adam was pissed off enough to let Neil do it. Kristopher was pretty sure that his note explained everything. He glanced up to see Adam watching them, his face was unemotional.  
  
“Well, this is an interesting turn of events. Is there something I should know?” Adam said, politely.  
  
“Who is he?” Neil said, simply. “And if you don’t tell me, I’m going to put a bullet in his head. He might survive; he might be a vegetable for the rest of his life—“  
  
“You hurt him and I’ll—“  
  
“You’ll what?” Neil said, smiling crazily. “You’ll hurt me? Your own brother? Over a piece of shit fuck toy?”  
  
“Make you regret it.” Adam stood up and walked closer to them, putting his hand into Kristopher’s hair. He narrowed his eyes at Neil and smirked. “Don’t call him fuck toy.”  
  
Kristopher rolled his eyes and huffed out an annoyed sigh. Adam’s hand tightened his grip on his hair and he looked up to see Adam staring down at him. “Hey.”  
  
“Hi, baby, did you have a good trip to Burma?”  
  
He shrugged his shoulder. “Yeah, it was okay.”  
  
“You knew!” Neil shouted, pulling the gun from Kristopher’s head. “What the fuck, Adam!”  
  
Adam leaned down and placed a kiss on Kristopher’s head. “He left me a letter and then called me to tell me that he needed a few days to pray.”  
  
Neil shook his head. “But you’ve been acting like such a pissy bitch—“  
  
“Because I missed him! I’m allowed to miss my boyfriend!”  
  
“What. The. Fuck.”  
  
Kristopher made a move to stand but Adam caught his shoulder and pressed down, smiling at him. “Just stay there, baby, I’ll be with you in a minute.”  
  
That made him cackle and he rested back on his legs on the carpet, watching how this would play out.  
  
“Look, I know you’ve been worried about me getting involved with him, but he’s all right. He’s perfect for me. And you don’t have to keep investigating him. I appreciate that you’re looking out for me, but it’s okay. Kristopher is mine and I know all that I need to know about him.”  
  
Neil narrowed his eyes. “Kristopher?”  
  
Kristopher nodded, smiling up at Neil. “I prefer that actually.”  
  
“I really hate you,” Neil said, looking at Adam.  
  
Adam chuckled and pulled Neil into an affectionate choke hold, pressing a smacking kiss against his cheek. “No, you don’t.”  
  
Neil wriggled out of his grasp and wiped at his face with the back of his hand. He gave Adam an annoyed look and sighed, putting his gun back into his shoulder holster. “You’re not going to tell me who he is, are you?”  
  
Adam took a few steps back and leaned against the edge of his desk. He smiled brightly at Neil and then looked down at Kristopher, giving him a fond look. Kristopher rolled his eyes. “Let’s just say that I trust him with my life.”  
  
“Fine,” Neil muttered, sulkily. “I’m going to find out eventually.”  
  
“Give us a moment, will you? I’d like to welcome my boyfriend home properly.”  
  
“Gross,” Neil said, hurrying out of the room and slamming the door closed behind him.  
  
Kristopher smiled up at Adam and licked his lips, rising on his knees and knee-walking across the short distance so that he was pressed against Adam’s legs. He hugged them and propped his chin on Adam’s thigh, looking up at him.  
  
Adam snickered, reaching down to pet Kristopher’s head. “Missed me?”  
  
“Yes.”  
  
“Suck my cock?”  
  
Kristopher chuckled and ran his hands up the back of Adam’s legs and over his hips to undo the front of his dress slacks. “Okay, but don’t come. I want you to fuck me over the desk.”  
  
“Welcome home, baby.” Adam murmured as Kristopher wrapped his lips around the head of his cock and gave him a long and wet kiss.  
  
***  
  
 _”Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”  
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry _  
  
  
Kristopher had a wonderful collection of knives. Over the years, on his travels, he had learned a lot about the different kinds of blades and even the process of how to make a strong blade. He had spent a year in Japan as a student of Miyairi Akihir, one of the greatest swordmakers in the 20th century, where he studied the art of blades. He had five _tanto_ blades made by Miyairi Akihir, all of them etched with a gorgeous image of a chrysanthemum as Kristopher’s signature symbol – life, sympathy, and honor. The knives were his prized possessions and he only used them on his toughest contracts. The night that he pressed the blade against Adam’s throat, Kristopher had used his _kubikiri tanto,_ his “head-cutter” blade. He wanted to use his best blade as a way of showing honor to Adam Lambert as he took his life.  
  
When he started as a professional assassin, he decided that guns were problematic. He liked being up close and personal with his targets, which is why he always found a way to ingratiate his way into their personal lives. Sometimes, it was as household staff – the pool cleaner, the gardener, the repairman – someone innocuous and who blended seamlessly into the background. No one ever noticed him until it was too late. When he would come into his target’s residence, the guards usually patted him down and checked his equipment, so a gun would’ve sent up a big red flag. But a knife, hidden in plain sight, was just another tool in his toolbox.  
  
And knives didn’t make noise when he used it properly. He knew where to cut to make it quick and as painless as possible. He never toyed with his targets, he never played games. He took opportunities and used his knife to make the perfect cut. It took anywhere between five to eight minutes for the average human body to bleed out – less time if the target’s blood pressure was up. Kristopher always stayed until the end, not just to make sure that the target was dead and his contract fulfilled, but as a sign of respect to the dying. Someone needed to witness their death and so Kristopher would watch.  
  
But it wasn’t just about showing his respects, Kristopher could be honest about that. He just liked to _watch._ Everyone died in their own way – some were loud and hung on viciously to life as their blood drained from their wounds; others just stared at him in simple shock and disbelief until their blood didn’t move in their veins – and Kristopher was fascinated by that part of the human condition. Sometimes, he could predict how his target would go. He was almost always right.  
  
Every once in awhile, he wondered how Adam would’ve gone. Not very quietly, Kristopher was certain.  
  
***  
  
 _“You’d think a psychopath assassin wouldn’t have a fan following, but he does.”  
Laurell K. Hamilton _  
  
  
There were times when Kristopher was bored and he itched to get back into the business. He still received messages from various people around the world who were willing to pay for his expertise. He had a reputation for being picky and he only responded to contract proposals that he intended to take.  
  
He was on his cooking blog – _Cooking with Kristopher_ – well, Kristopher did love cooking and he enjoyed sharing recipes that he found during his travels on his blog; it had over two million hits now – and he read through the messages on the forum page until one caught his eye:  
  
 _Would love to know about a special recipe that’s found only in Las Vegas. French cuisine. I’d pay like a million bucks for that recipe if you have the time to look for it._  
  
His fingers curled and flexed on his desk as he chewed on his bottom lip. It would be so easy – he could convince Adam to take him to Vegas for a few days; Kristopher would slip out while Adam was at the spa and take out his target.  
  
He leaned back in his chair. “Hey, Adam?”  
  
“Yes, baby?” Adam said, somewhat distractedly as he read something on his laptop screen.  
  
“Can we go to Vegas this weekend?”  
  
“Okay, let me get Neil to set up our security and get the plane ready.”  
  
Kristopher smiled. “Can we stay at the Paris Las Vegas?”  
  
“I’ll book us the high roller VIP suite.”  
  
“And reservations at Gordon Ramsay Steak?”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
“Thanks Adam,” he called, putting his hands on his keyboard and sending a reply to the message.  
  
 _This weekend only. Send me a private message for details._  
  
If this was a serious contract, then he’d get the details for the contract and target. And if it wasn’t a real message, well, then Kristopher would have an awesome weekend trip to Vegas with his boyfriend.  
  
And there was a great knife store in Red Rock that he wanted to check out.  
  
***  
  
 _”Your technique is magnificent. When cut across the neck, a sound like wailing winter wind is heard. I’d always hoped to cut someone like that someday, to hear that sound.”  
Master of Death _  
  
  
One night, Adam rolled on his side and propped up his head with his hand and traced his fingernail over Kristopher’s nipple, sending delightful shivers straight to the pit of his stomach. He grinned, keeping his eyes closed, letting the sensation of Adam’s buffed nail get him excited all over again. His cock started getting a little hard, brushing against the soft bed sheet covering his lower body.  
  
“So how much money do you have?”  
  
Kristopher opened his eye and slid it to the side, looking at Adam. “What a weird question, dude.”  
  
“I just want to make sure you’re okay. Financially, I mean.”  
  
He chuckled and opened his other eye, turning on his side and tucking his arm under his head, looking at Adam. “I’m all right. I mean, I have enough money to take care of _you_ if you ever decide to retire from being LA’s crime lord.”  
  
Adam snorted and rolled his eyes. “Don’t call me that. It’s so passé.” He licked his lips and ran his hand down Kristopher’s skin, curling over his sharp hip bone. “I’m just concerned. I could set up a private account for you in the Cayman Islands or something. You never really buy anything for yourself. Like, don’t you want clothes and stuff?”  
  
“I bought that new knife,” he said, smiling wistfully at the gorgeous new long blade he picked up at Red Rock. The blade was white-steel with a black handle inlaid with Robin Egg blue mother-of-pearl in a stylized “K &A”.  
  
“That doesn’t count,” Adam insisted, rolling his eyes.  
  
“I don’t need new clothes. It’s not like you let me keep anything on long enough anyway,” he said, snickering slightly.  
  
“But—“  
  
“Seriously, you don’t have to give me any of your money,” he said, smiling widely. “That’s really kind of sweet, though.”  
  
Adam leaned down and pressed a kiss on Kristopher’s mouth, whispering secretively against his lips. “I know you took a job when we were in Vegas last month.”  
  
Kristopher chased against Adam’s lips and licked the bottom one that was pouting a little. He shouldn’t be surprised that Adam figured it out. He really shouldn’t underestimate Adam; he was smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for and Kristopher was learning just how smart Adam was every day. “Hmmm…just keeping my hand in the game.”  
  
“You didn’t even tell me; Neil found your stupid website where you get your contracts, by the way,” he muttered, frowning a little.  
  
He sighed and grinned, shaking his head. “So that’s where Neil got the recipe for herb and garlic crusted rack of lamb! I was wondering why it was so familiar!”  
  
“Do you like being an assassin?”  
  
“Sometimes, yeah,” he said, nodding slowly. He met Adam’s gaze. “I’m kind of a psycho? I mean, I’m not like Ted Bundy psycho or Jeffrey Dahmer psycho…I just…I like to watch. Blood is pretty when it’s fresh and leaving a person’s body; and everyone dies in a really interesting way. So the job is kind of perfect for me.”  
  
“So you’re kind of like Dexter psycho?”  
  
Kristopher shrugged one shoulder and nibbled on his lip. “Well, I guess so? I mean, he kills because he _has_ to; I kill because I _want_ to. Does that make sense? It’s not like I’m going to wake up one day if I haven’t taken a job in a long time and suddenly go cuckoo on everyone in the mansion.”  
  
Adam stared at him for a long time and Kristopher wondered if it would change how he felt about Kristopher. Would Adam like him less? Be afraid of him? Kristopher didn’t want Adam to be afraid of him; he liked having Adam’s affection. The new feelings that Adam brought out in him were…a little disconcerting at times, but it made him feel warm, like he was standing on top of a treeless hill and the sunlight was beaming down on him. Kristopher loved being on top of a hill and looking down – down at a city where he could blend in and walk with people and, you know, every once in awhile, cut their throats and watch them bleed out.  
  
“So when you were a kid, did you kill animals?”  
  
Kristopher made a face. “What? Gross, no, why on earth would I kill animals?”  
  
“Because serial killers always started with killing small animals when they were kids?”  
  
He stared at Adam for a long time. “I’d never kill an animal. What’s the point in seeing an animal die? They’re helpless and cute.”  
  
Adam nodded, thoughtful and serious. “Have you ever killed women or children? Do you have a rule against that? Like a code?”  
  
“If someone contracted me to kill a woman or a child, I’d probably go and track them down and kill them instead for even making such a proposal,” he said, lowly.  
  
“Huh,” Adam murmured, smiling a little bit. He met Kristopher’s eyes and Kristopher thought he saw something in them that made him uncomfortable – something that looked like…uncertainty?  
  
“I’d never put a knife against your throat again, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Kristopher said, trying to be as reassuring as possible. “In fact, I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”  
  
He watched as Adam smiled at him, his blue eyes dark and glittering with desire. Kristopher scooted closer until he could wrap himself against Adam and breathed in the post-sex warmth of him. Kristopher wasn’t totally inhuman; he knew what love was like. He remembered the feeling he had for his parents and his brother; he remembered being held and kissed and told that he was loved. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure if what he felt for Adam was love, but whenever Adam held him, like now, he felt that same sense of care and warmth that he got from his parents. He’d never been able to duplicate that feeling before…until Adam.  
  
“I’m starting to fall in love with you, Kristopher,” Adam whispered against his hair.  
  
Kristopher smiled and ran his hands down Adam’s strong back. “You know, I think that’s exactly how I feel about you, too.”  
  
“Seriously, can you please tell me who put the contract out on me now?”  
  
He giggled and pressed his forehead against Adam’s chest. “Dude, come on…”  
  
“I really want to know. Please?”  
  
Kristopher sighed and then looked up at him. “It was one of your ex-boyfriends.”  
  
Adam frowned and Kristopher could see the wheels turning in his head. “But…which one?”  
  
He arched his eyebrow and gave Adam a look.  
  
“Damn…it was Max, wasn’t it?” Adam said, shaking his head. “Yeah, it was Max. Max was such a vindictive bitch.”  
  
Kristopher snickered. “Not anymore.”  
  
“So…how did you kill him?”  
  
“Met him at a club, he took me home with him, I asked if we could take a nice hot bath, and I slit his wrists and made it look like a suicide,” Kristopher said, simply.  
  
Adam’s eyes widened and he stared at Kristopher for a long time, his mouth open. “But—but how?”  
  
Kristopher shrugged. “I, uh, _distracted_ him until he was, you know, kind of, um, _calmer_ and—“ he made the universal movement for jerking someone off. Adam narrowed his eyes at him and Kristopher made a face and bit his lip. “Uh…while he was kind of drifting off, I took the razor out of his razor blade and did it.” He glanced at Adam, hoping he wasn’t mad at Kristopher. “He didn’t deserve any of my knives.”  
  
Somehow, that seemed to make sense to Adam; and that’s why Kristopher was with him. He just seemed to _know_ Kristopher and understand him without judging. He waited for Adam’s reaction and sighed when Adam just chuckled and pulled him closer, kissing his forehead.  
  
“You’re so good to me, baby.”  
  
***  
  
 _”We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  
Aristotle _  
  
**Epilogue**  
  
  
On their one year anniversary, Adam whisked Kristopher off on his private yacht for a month long cruise around South America. Of course, Adam brought along his security forces and left Neil in charge of the business while they went on their vacation. Kristopher really liked Adam’s security team; they kept Adam safe and allowed Kristopher the freedom to be his happy psychotic self.  
  
“I hate you,” Adam muttered, hidden under huge black sunglasses and a wide brimmed floppy hat. He wore a light cotton long sleeved shirt and long shorts, tucked against the side of the shady side of the ship.  
  
Kristopher made a face. “Why do you hate me now?”  
  
“Because you’re all tanned and gorgeous,” he said, sulkily.  
  
“A little sun won’t kill you,” he said, walking to sit down next to Adam and curling against him.  
  
“Then my freckles will just get bigger.”  
  
“I love your freckles,” he teased, kissing the smattering of freckles along the side of his neck. “Yummm…I want to lick all of them.”  
  
Adam chuckled, pulling down the sunglasses to the tip of his nose so he could look over the top edge, eyes sparkling with wickedness. “I got something else you could lick all over.”  
  
Kristopher smiled, nodding and reaching down to undo Adam’s shorts. “I love the freckles on your cock best.”  
  
“Gross,” he said, scooting down on the deck chair and sighing with pleasure as Kristopher got on his knees between Adam’s legs, ducking down to lick around the wet tip. “Baby…”  
  
“Shhh…I just want to put you in my mouth for a little while,” he said, moving down to his belly and wrapping his arms around Adam’s hips. He took his time licking Adam’s cock, feeling him get harder and wider and longer with each lick. Kristopher sighed and looked up as he popped the head into his mouth, sucking on it slowly as he leaned his head against Adam’s hip, looking up at him.  
  
Adam smiled and stroked his head, pushing his sunglasses back up his nose and leaning back against the chair. “Go ahead, take your time, I’m not in any hurry.”  
  
It was times like this when he felt pleased he hadn’t killed Adam that night; that Adam had remained so calm and steady enough to catch his attention, Kristopher reflected happily, as he suckled on the head, letting his tongue move over the plump helmet, tasting the bitter pre-come, and then tightening his lips around the rim. The breeze off the coast of _San Cristóbal Island_ warmed them as Kristopher sank against Adam’s legs, hugging his lower body and closing his eyes, letting his tongue rest right against the circumcision scar at the base of the head. He grinned when Adam hissed in pleasure, his hips thrusting a little.  
  
Adam’s hair tightened convulsively in his hair, the hint of pain sending a rush of lust through his body. He wiggled on the cushion of the deck chair, adjusting his cock under his shorts, enjoying his own thrum of need and delayed pleasure.  
  
“Such a fucking tease,” Adam whispered, petting Kristopher sweetly.  
  
Kristopher gave him a long suck, flicking his tongue against the slit, showing Adam just how much of a tease he really was. He giggled around his mouthful and breathed slowly out of his nose, his hands stoking Adam’s hips.  
  
He was pretty sure that he loved Adam; while Adam didn’t hesitate telling Kristopher every chance that he had, Kristopher wasn’t sure if what he felt was love and he didn’t want to lie to Adam. But being here with him now, like this, curled against him with Adam’s cock in his mouth, neither in any hurry to do anything more right then, Kristopher thought, _yes, this was what love felt like._  
  
Love, Kristopher decided, reminded him of blood. It was thick and warm, it oozed and flowed, it was vibrant and fragrant. It was life and excitement; it was mystery and certainty. Most of all, loving Adam, kind of like killing, was the easiest thing to do.  
  
Kristopher imagined that Adam would be pleased to finally hear him say it; and that made the little psychotic inside really, really happy.  
  
  
The End.


End file.
